Summer in Review: The Food Trends That Dominated Summer '13

2013 may very well go down as the summer of the Frankenfood. From Cronuts to ramen burgers to Umami Cronut burgers, chefs and shops were on a mission to create the next big food fad, and many did so with great success. The season also saw new spins on old trends like barbecue and fried chicken. Because this summer was such a whirlwind, we decided to take a look back to see which food fads stuck, and what emerging foods we think will replace the once highly sought after items like Cronuts and ramen burgers.

Click through the slideshow for a run down of the summer’s biggest stories in food.

High-Concept Ice Cream

What Happened? Ice cream got a whole lot more interesting.
Aftermath: In June, OddFellows opened in Williamsburg (and its food truck made them a finalist for the 2013 Vendy Awards). With flavors like Sesame Kumquat Pumpernickel, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and Chorizo Caramel Swirl, the parlor built on the foundation Ben & Jerry have been building for while: frozen treats can be fun and interesting. This summer also saw the opening of The Evergreen Ice Cream Co. in nearby Bushwick, which serves up flavors like Vietnamese Iced Coffee and Bourbon Pecan. Melt Bakery continued the good work they began in 2010 with their gourmet ice cream sandwiches (flavors include Red Velvet cookies with cream cheese ice cream), and everyone enjoyed the brain freeze.
Predictions: More savory ice creams; more boozy ice creams; more vegetable flavored ice creams

Fried Chicken Takeover 2.0

What Happened? New York has been having a fried chicken moment since 2009, when David Chang launched a fried chicken prix fixe dinner at Momofuku, and Andrew Carmellini answered with a similar meal at Locanda Verde. That summer also saw Brooklyn Bowl's beginnings, where the Bromberg brothers have been serving crispy cluckers ever since to great fanfare. Fast-forward four years: Interest in crisp, deep-fried poultry has only grown, and there seems to be no shortage of deep-pocketed investors looking to make a reliable buck from it.
Aftermath: QuestLove's Hybird in New York's Chelsea Market opened to warm reviews, and people loved the poultry at Michael White & Eben Freeman's The Butterfly in Tribeca. Then, the Bromberg brothers kept their fire burning with Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken in the East Village.... Meanwhile, in L.A., long a town enamored of pollo frito, the LA Fried Chicken Fest returns for a second year on September 15.
Predictions: Fried chicken has been a stalwart favorite forever; after this summer, it seems to have solidified its place in the pecking order, even among the gourmand set. Expect more savory breasts and thighs until the market reaches total saturation.

The Cronut

What happened?:Love it or hate it,, Dominique Ansel's crispy-fried, cream-filled Cronut, which dropped in May, was the winningest culinary craze of the summer, on par with Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines in its scope and reach. Amazingly, it's still going strong.
Aftermath: The Cronut line grew...and grew...and grew. As the lines snaked longer and longer down Spring Street, to the horror and amazement of locals, a new breed of human was born: The Crotard. A black market formed, where people would buy Cronuts and then sell them to people in line and on Craigslist for $50 or more. Knockoffs turned up halfway across the globe and in Victoria Beckham's kitchen. Next week, Shake Shack will sell 1,000 Cronut Hole custard dishes at its Madison Square Park flagship for charity. There is no end in sight.
Predictions: Dominique Ansel will keep pushing the envelope—he seems like an man on a mission. Since the Cronut dropped, Ansel has debuted a few additional novelty pastries, like a Frozen S'more (in late July), and a "Magic Souffle" (last week), that in any other climate may have been total hits. But in the grips of Cronut mania, they seemed like comparative flops.

Umami Burger

What happened? In July, L.A.-based burger chain Umami Burger made its much-anticipated New York debut, and despite predictions of total burger mayhem, the unveiling went pretty smoothly. Yes, there were lines, but no, they weren't completely crazy.
Aftermath: So far, Umami Burger has been well-received and is doing a decent business in NYC, but it certainly hasn't shaken up the city's burger landscape the way it might have hoped to.
Predictions: Once the verdict's unequivocally in, expect more locations—maybe a couple more in NYC, then Philly, Boston, and D.C.?

The Cronut Burger

What Happened? 2013 saw burgers sandwiched in ramen noodles and Cronuts and piled high with fresh new ideas as chefs looked for new ways to enhance the ground-beef experience. First We Feast hoped on the trend wagon by making a DIY Umami Cronut Burger back in July. In a sorry attempt to take the Cronut craze international, Cronut burgers were served at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto in August.
Aftermath: Over 200 people fell ill after eating the Canadian Cronut burgers. The incident was traced to the maple bacon jam on the burger, which contained Staphylococcus aureus toxin, and the bakery responsible for the tainted jam ceased production.
Predictions: Wherever the Cronut and burger crazes lead next, it will likely not be back in the Cronut Burger direction, which will likely remain plagued by stigma for the foreseeable future. Tough to say what will come next: Dorito Burger? Burger Dumplings? Expect chefs to continue thinking way outside the bun.

The Second Wave of Barbecue

What happened? Barbecue is big every summer, but it was especially big this summer. A few years back, barbecue officially hopped the Mason Dixon line and went mainstream. In 2008, New York became an unlikely host to a serious onslaught of smoked meats, sold by the pound, at places like Hill Country (Chelsea) and Fette Sau (Williamsburg), and since then, several more smokers have hopped on the bandwagon, whipping the city into a meaty frenzy.
Aftermath: In New York, trendy Williamsburg now has at least four major 'cue outposts and a few more fatty shacks opened at the weekend food fair Smorgasburg. Alchemy, Texas opened pre-summer in Queens (though it's already closed), and Mighty Quinn's opened a brick and mortar this year in the East Village. Meanwhile in L.A., Umami Restaurant Group announced this spring that they would open Roadhouse LA, and although that remains pending, it's inching closer, we can feel it.
Predictions: Mo' brisket, mo' pulled pork: mo' better.

Bantam Bagel Holes

What happened? In early September, New York's Bantam Bagel shop jumped on the food-fad bandwagon and launched the "Bagel Hole," an inverse of the classic, carby breakfast item, and unleashed an onslaught of bready controversy. Before it even opened, the owners had appeared on morning talk shows and received a mountain of press.Aftermath: The bite-size bagel treats got a fair amount of flack from NYC bagel purists, but jury's still out. So far, people are not going crazy over it.
Predictions: I'll say it: it's a passing trend. Bantam will continue to serve bagel holes, people will continue to buy them, and we'll all continue to not really care either way.

Ramen Burger

What happened? In July, Sun Noodle cart, a regular vender at Smorgasburg food fair in Brooklyn, unleashed the Ramen Burger, a burger with ramen noodle buns, and everyone went over the moon for it.
Aftermath: There were lines. GQ restaurant critic Alan Richman thought it was ridiculous. Sun Noodle increased Ramen Burger production from 100 the first weekend to 300 the next and people are still lining up for them, rain or shine. It was revealed that you can make them at home, with a frying pan and a little skill.
Predictions: This one will likely last at least until Smorgasburg closes in November, but will likely return next summer.

The All-Potato Restaurant

What happened? Adam Dikker opened his first New York location of his all-potato fast casual restaurant, Potatopia, continuing a trend of single-item restaurants in the vein of Rice to Riches, S'Mac, and others.
Aftermath: Dikker has furthered the idea that foods generally viewed as side dishes deserve a place in the spotlight—kind of. At Potatotopia, potatoes may form the basis of the meal, but let's face it: it's really about what you top the potato with, not the potato itself. You choose your basic potato format (fried, curly, au gratin, etc.), then add whatever you want (meats, cheeses, sauces, veggies) to make it your own.
Predictions: It's interesting, that's for sure. Maybe sweet potatoes will be the new hot root vegetable of 2014?

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